In a world full of quick fix promises and restrictive eating plans, Intuitive Eating is a refreshing approach.

What is Intuitive Eating?

Intuitive Eating is an evidenced-based, non-diet eating and self-care framework with ten guiding principles. It fosters a healthy relationship with food, promotes body acceptance, and helps you rediscover the joy of eating.

Intuitive Eating was developed in the 1990s by two dieticians – Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch – and their book Intuitive Eating is now in its fourth edition. In the intervening years there has been a substantial body of research built up, including a meta-analysis (a gold standard in research), on the effectiveness of Intuitive Eating. The research has consistently found that Intuitive Eating has wide ranging physical and psychological benefits. The research findings are summarised in the table below which has been taken from the Intuitive Eating book (1).

The 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating

1. Reject the Diet Mentality: Intuitive eating begins with freeing yourself from the diet mentality. Say goodbye to restrictive diets, rules, and the cycle of guilt associated with food. Instead, embrace the idea that your body deserves nourishment without rigid guidelines.

2. Honour Your Hunger: Listen to your body's hunger signals and respond appropriately. Honouring your hunger ensures that you eat when your body needs fuel, avoiding the negative consequences of extreme hunger, such as overeating or making unhealthy food choices.

3. Make Peace with Food: Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. Remove the labels of "good" or "bad" from foods and allow yourself to enjoy a variety of foods without guilt. This principle helps break the cycle of deprivation and binge eating / overeating / falling “off the wagon.”

4. Challenge the Food Police: Identify and challenge the internalised "food police" – those critical thoughts that judge your food choices. Shift towards fostering a healthier mindset around eating.

5. Discover the Satisfaction Factor: Savour your meals and pay attention to the sensory experience of eating. When you genuinely enjoy your food, you are more likely to feel satisfied and less inclined to overeat.

6. Feel Your Fullness: Pay attention to your body's signals that indicate you are comfortably full. Learn to distinguish between physical fullness and emotional or environmental cues that may influence eating.

7. Cope with Emotions With Kindness: Develop alternative coping mechanisms for dealing with emotions rather than turning to food. This might involve finding healthy outlets for stress or seeking support from friends, family, or professionals.

8. Respect Your Body: Cultivate a positive body image by appreciating your body for what it can do rather than focusing on its appearance. Respect and care for your body, recognizing that it deserves kindness and nourishment.

9. Movement – Feel the Difference: Engage in physical activity that you enjoy and that makes you feel good. Shift the focus from exercise as a means of punishment or compensation for eating to an activity that contributes to your overall well-being.

10. Honour Your Health with Gentle Nutrition: Make food choices that honour your health and taste buds simultaneously. Recognise that nourishing your body does not mean sacrificing flavour or enjoyment. Prioritise foods that make you feel good physically and mentally.

Getting Started with Intuitive Eating

Embracing Intuitive Eating is a way to cultivate a healthier relationship with food, prioritising your well-being over arbitrary rules.

If you are new to Intuitive Eating, it can be overwhelming to know where to begin. It is important to go at your own pace – there is no set order to work through the Principles and in reality, they will overlap. Neither is there a set time for when you need to have worked through them.

Here is a list of suggestions for some ways you can started – choose ones that make sense for you

· Try to stop thinking about foods in terms of “good” and “bad”

· Think about what food rules you may have and where they came from

· Delete tracking apps

· Throw out the weighing scales

· Give yourself permission to eat all foods

· Before choosing what to eat, think about what you actually want to eat

· When preparing a meal or snack, think about what nutrition you could add in

· Stop counting calories / macros / points etc

· If you eat the same food every day, think about how you could increase variety

· Eat one meal a day without distractions i.e. no book, phone, TV, laptop etc.

What to expect from Nutrition Coaching using Intuitive Eating Principles

Intuitive Eating works exceptionally well when integrated into a one-to-one Nutrition Coaching programme, providing a highly personalised experience that fosters a healthy relationship with food.

This is some of what you can expect

· Dismantle the diet mentality

· Replace restrictive thinking with an understanding that food is not the enemy

· Mindset shift towards nourishment rather than restriction

· Reconnect with hunger signals

· Identify and challenge restrictive thoughts

· Develop a balanced and sustainable relationship with a diverse range of foods

· Reframe negative thoughts

· Discover the satisfaction factor in meals

· Become attuned to fullness signals

· Shift from appearance-based goals

· Health is prioritised without sacrificing the pleasure of eating

Want to Learn More about Intuitive Eating?

Read the book: Intuitive Eating
Listen to podcasts
Book a free Discovery Call with me

References

Tribole, E. and Resch, E. (2020) Intuitive eating: A revolutionary anti-diet approach. New York: St. Martin’s Essentials.
Tribole, E. and Resch, E. (2017) The intuitive eating workbook: 10 principles for nourishing a healthy relationship with food. New Harbinger.

Intuitive Eating: 10 Principles